A Father's Promise

by Marcia Evanick

  She stood up and chuckled uneasily as she reached for the pile of folders on the bench. She didn't like the coincidence that they both had thought up the ax murderer bit. It was unnerving. He might not be there to harm them, but there was a very good possibility that he could rip apart what was left of her family.

  She glanced down at her dirt-streaked jeans and cringed. They were in worse shape than her sweatshirt. All in all, she was a mess and not in any mood for company. What she desperately needed was a shower. A long hot shower might ease some of the tension in her shoulders and possibly help the headache forming behind her eyes. As for the pain in her heart, she didn't think that would ever go away.

  "I have to give you fair warning, Ellis." She stepped over to the door and placed her hand on the brass knob. She wasn't about to let Ellis think he had infiltrated her family so easily. Thomas might trust him, but her vote wasn't in yet.

  "About what?" Ellis had stepped back into the circle of light. Even in the gloom of dusk and under the glare of a forty-watt bulb he looked handsome as all hell.

  "If you do turn out to have any murderous inclinations, I do know how to protect what's mine. My father taught me how to shoot his thirty-eight." She smiled sweetly as if blowing big holes into things gave her great pleasure. "I've been told I'm an excellent shot and I will guarantee you that I will hit what I'm aiming at." Ellis managed to look both impressed and apprehensive. Good, let him chew on that one for a while. She turned around, opened the door and stepped into the warm inviting kitchen.

  * * *

  Ellis felt a little strange being all nestled up, kind of cozy like in the den, with Thomas St. Claire and his daughter. The evening news was on television, but turned down low and no one was paying much attention to it. Everyone was more intent on digesting the meal they had just shared.

  Thomas had seemed friendly and open about his curiosity regarding Catherine Carlisle. All through dinner Thomas asked questions, none of them really bordering on being too personal. But not once did Ellis get the impression Thomas was interrogating him. And the older man had expertly broken up the questions with an array of stories about a young, seemingly shy Catherine.

  Thomas didn't act as if he had anything to hide and had been quite open with his answers to the few questions Ellis had asked. Nor did Thomas act like a man who just had his unwanted thirty-two-year-old son show up on his doorstep demanding a blood sample. Thomas seemed relaxed and confident that he could prove he wasn't Ellis's father.

  Ellis had come to Coalsburg prepared to hate the man whom his mother had claimed fathered him and then abandoned them both. But he had been prepared to hide his hate and bargain with the devil himself to give his son a chance. He was finding it awfully hard to keep his hatred toward Thomas alive.

  The one thing he did notice about Thomas was that he ate very little of his dinner. It seemed a shame when Thomas's sister, Mary, left to go home to her husband instead of staying to enjoy the meal with them. She was an excellent cook and he couldn't remember ever enjoying a meal more. Taste wasn't the problem, but maybe Thomas's appetite was. The man appeared to be dwindling away. Of course, losing his sight might also have something to do with it. He had always considered taste and smell the two most important senses when it came to eating. But then he'd never thought about what it must feel like to be totally blind. If he was surrounded by darkness and had to eat in a black void, there was a good chance he would lose his appetite too.

  His first pangs of sympathy for Thomas had come and gone over dinner. He had hardened his heart. He wasn't staying here to feel sorry for the man. He was here to discover Thomas's price to become Trevor's bone marrow donor. Thomas's one and only weakness, he had discovered so far, was his beautiful yet wary daughter, Sydney.

  Ellis glanced over at the other end of the couch where Sydney was poring over a computer printout and a small mountain of paperwork. Piles were neatly stacked on the coffee table in front of her. Two piles were on the floor, and a couple of folders were next to her on the couch. She seemed totally engrossed in the surrounding paperwork, but his gut was telling him she was very much aware of him and Thomas.

  Sydney St. Claire was becoming quite a distraction with that pair of glasses perched on her cute little nose. It made his fingers itch to pull off those round wire glasses and give her something more interesting to study besides dull computer printouts. Something like the human anatomy.

  His anatomy in particular.

  Sydney was an intriguing puzzle and suddenly he was wondering what it would feel like if he became a puzzle master. At first, he's simply seen her as the protective and loving daughter of Thomas St. Claire. She was also, he'd learned from Thomas this afternoon, the sole owner of Ever Green Nursery since her mother had died.

  When he'd stepped onto the back patio earlier, he thought she'd smelled a little ripe, but hadn't been positive until she had walked into the kitchen and Mary had laughingly shooed her upstairs to take a shower before dinner. Thomas had sat silently at the kitchen table until Mary had gently patted his hand. Only then did Thomas admit that the strange odor reminded him of his departed wife, Julia. At first Ellis hadn't considered that a compliment, but then he remembered that Julia St. Claire had started the nursery. Julia and Sydney had stepped, worked or played in the same foul-smelling stuff. In his opinion it definitely took a different type of woman than what he was used to, to willingly smell like horse manure. His ex-wife, Ginny, had never even left their bedroom without dousing herself with French perfume. He shuddered to think what Ginny would have thought of Sydney's choice of fragrances.

  The one thing he could say definitely about Sydney was she sure cleaned up nice. Real nice. She had replaced her work clothes after her shower with the same short-sleeved emerald green sweater she'd had on that morning, but this time she paired it with a flowing skirt of green-and-gold swirls. The silky skirt teased her calves and offered him an enticing peek of her long slim legs and her nicely shaped ankles. It made a man want to speculate what the rest of her looked like beneath all that silk.

  The last thing he needed was to be thinking about what Sydney would look like beneath the silk skirt, or denim jeans, or the emerald green sweater that clung so nicely to all the right curves. He surely didn't need the dream he'd had last night, where her hair had been spread out across his pillow, her lips made swollen and red by his kisses and her legs wrapped around his hips. His overactive imagination, where Sydney was concerned, didn't need any more visual stimulation.

  Sydney wasn't the reason he was sitting in the same room with the man who had fathered him. Trevor was. Sydney was a dangerous distraction.

  "Did you get in touch with your son today?" Thomas's voice broke the silence of the room.

  Ellis turned to Thomas, and looked away from the beautiful woman sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "Yes. I talked to him around lunchtime."

  "He doesn't mind you staying a couple of days?"

  He didn't want to admit that his son's voice had cracked with tears when he'd told him about the delay. He had felt so guilty for not being there for Trev, even though the boy was in the excellent and loving hands of Mrs. McCall. He didn't know how to explain to his son how important this was. He could have gone back to Jenkintown and stayed with Trevor until the results of Thomas's blood test were in. But if the miracle happened, and Thomas did match and then for some unknown reason decided not to be Trevor's donor, his hands would have been tied. He wouldn't have known enough about Thomas to know what kind of leverage he could use to convince him to change his mind. If Thomas was the kind of man to get an eighteen-year-old girl pregnant and then abandon her and the child without guilt, then who was to say he would go through with the transplant? Ellis couldn't chance it. He wasn't leaving Thomas's side until the results of the test were in.

  Ellis shifted in the soft couch and remembered the bribe he had thrown his son. "Trevor was a little upset, but I promised him I would look for an orangutan."

  "An orangutan?"r />
  "Trevor is in the middle of collecting what seems like a warehouse full of jungle animals. I was informed this morning he was still missing an orangutan." He had Mrs. McCall to thank for pointing that one out to Trevor. "He has a gorilla and a chimpanzee, but no orangutan."

  Thomas laughed. "Sounds like it's a real zoo around your place."

  "You have no idea. Some of the guys I work with heard about Trev's collection and bought him a five-foot-long stuffed alligator. The damn thing sleeps in the bathtub because there's no room left in Trev's room. Scares the living tar out of me every time I turn on the light."

  Sydney seemed to stare at her father for a long time before joining in the laughter. "Tell me, what does a five-foot-long alligator eat?"

  "Anything it wants." He liked Sydney's laugh. It was low and throaty and made his gut tighten just a little bit. He gave her a slow smile. "There's usually some cute fuzzy teddy bear clamped between its vicious jaws."

  "Does your son name his animals?" Sydney pulled her reading glasses off her nose and dropped them on the printout she had been reading. "I used to name all my animals when I was little." He watched in wonder as her features softened into a warm, loving smile directed solely at her father. He knew instantly that she hadn't heard her father laugh in a long time. A very long time.

  "She gave them all sissy names like Lulu and Priscilla," Thomas said. "Boys give their animals tough, mean names." Thomas scratched his jaw and grinned. "I bet he named the alligator Killer or Terminator or something equally as revolting."

  "I'm afraid not, Thomas. Trevor does name every one of his animals, but he believes all animals must have people names. The teddy-bear mangler is affectionately known as Fred."

  "Fred," sputtered Sydney. "Where did he come up with that one?"

  "Me." Ellis shrugged. "Hey, I was running out of names. There's Wilson the elephant, Lawrence the giraffe and Richard the lion." He had to shake his head at the complexities of raising a five-year-old. Trevor had stumped his mind on more than one occasion. Like why is cheese yellow and how come real stars don't look like the ones everyone draws? "It's not easy naming an entire jungle."

  "Minus one orangutan." Thomas pushed his recliner back and raised his feet. "I don't envy you, Ellis. Orangutans are pretty scarce in Coalsburg nowadays." Thomas rubbed his chin. "Last time I saw one was in eighty-two. Or was it eighty-three?"

  Ellis shook his head at Thomas's attempt at humor. He didn't need Thomas to tell him how difficult it was locating a certain breed of animal Trevor had set his mind on. Lawrence, the four-foot-high giraffe, had been Federal Expressed from a catalog company based in California. It was a real shame he didn't have the catalog with him. There might have been an orangutan in the potpourri of pets that the company carried. "Thanks, I'll remember that tomorrow when I'm out on the safari."

  "Try Two-By-Two on Main Street," Sydney said. "They carry just about every animal under the sun."

  "Two-By-Two?"

  "It's a toy store named in honor of Noah's Ark. Georgette Gentry owns it. If she doesn't have an orangutan in stock, she can order you one."

  "I forgot about Georgette's place," Thomas said. "It's right there at the intersection of Main and Oak Streets. Heck, Ellis, you could probably find a half-dozen species of jungle animals you don't even know about."

  "So what you are telling me is that I'll be going back home with more than an orangutan in the back seat."

  "Count on it." Sydney slipped on her glasses and picked up the folder sitting beside her. "Georgette has everything." Her smile held pure mischief. "I bet she'll even have a mate for Fred."

  "That's just what I need. Two alligators startling years off my life and mating in the tub." If Trevor ever found out about Two-By-Two, Ellis would have to build an addition onto the boy's bedroom. Maybe that isn't such a bad idea, he thought. He could build Fred his own cage and maybe Trevor would be able to fit his collection all in one room so the occasional monkey or tiger scattered throughout the house would eventually find its way back home.

  "I have a suggestion. Why don't you bring Trevor out here?" Thomas asked. "He's more than welcome to stay here, we have plenty of room for him and one or two of his favorite animals."

  He was tempted to take Thomas up on his offer. He really was tempted. He missed Trevor beyond belief and the daily phone calls to his son weren't even coming close to filling the hole in his heart. But he couldn't allow himself to give in to that temptation. As rotten as it sounded after accepting Thomas's hospitality, he still didn't trust the man. He would never put his son in a situation where he might be hurt.

  Trevor craved a bigger extended family. Ginny and her family had disappeared from Trevor's life when he was only six weeks old. As far as Trevor knew, he had no mother, no aunts, uncles or grandparents and he had developed the innocent tendency, born of youth, to latch on to the people who entered his life. Trevor had been heartbroken when he had to leave the hospital and the extended family he had made of the doctors and nurses.

  Integrating Trevor's life with doctors and nurses was unavoidable, but purposely thrusting Thomas and Sydney into his son's life would be inexcusable no matter how much he missed the little boy. "Thanks for the offer, but it will only be for a few days, until the test results are back. I wouldn't want to bring havoc to your home. It's unbelievable what a five-year-old can do to one house." He managed to smile as if he meant it. "Besides, I wouldn't want to deprive Ma Bell of all the extra revenue she'll be making in that time."

  "The offer is still open if you change your mind. This old house could use some excitement." Thomas settled more deeply into the chair. "I've been after Sydney for years to get married and give me some grandchildren to spoil."

  Thomas's voice had been teasing, but Ellis picked up a note of seriousness beneath the gentle kidding.

  A flush of embarrassment swept over Sydney's face. "I really don't think it would be appropriate for me to get married and have a couple of babies just so you would have grandchildren."

  Ellis felt sorry for Sydney. If Thomas hadn't abandoned Catherine Carlisle and their unborn child, he would have been a grandfather five years ago. "Sydney's right, Thomas. Having a child to make someone else happy usually never works out."

  Ginny had gotten pregnant with Trevor because she saw the end of their marriage looming on the horizon. She hadn't wanted to lose the way of life she had grown accustomed to. She had thought a baby would hold the marriage together, and she was partly right. Ellis never would have divorced the mother of his child. He believed firmly that a child needed a mother, and since he needed and wanted his child, the marriage was staying together. Ginny had been the one to initiate the divorce and the very substantial hole in his bank account. He hadn't minded too much. He figured he had gotten the better part of the deal. He had gotten Trevor.

  "Oh, I know that, Ellis." Thomas turned his head in Sydney's direction. "My daughter knows I'm kidding, but sometimes I do wish she wasn't so damn picky."

  "Picky?" sputtered Sydney.

  He nearly chuckled at the look of outrage on Sydney's face. "Now, Thomas, a woman has the right to be a little picky when it comes to choosing a husband and a father for her children."

  "I really don't appreciate your help, Mr. Carlisle, on the subject." Sydney glared at her father, and he was positive that if Thomas could have seen her look he would have dived for cover. "I also don't appreciate it, Dad, that you would bring up the subject of my lack of a husband and children in front of a stranger."

  "Ellis isn't a stranger. He's Cathy's boy." Thomas puffed out his chest in pride. "Besides, you already had two fine catches, but for some unknown reason you let them both go."

  He was positive Sydney was praying for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Maybe he should be thankful that Thomas hadn't taken an active part in his upbringing.

  "Dad, I don't believe in catching men or letting them go." Sydney gathered up her papers and not so subtly slammed the folders down on top of each other. "Since
you seem to want to talk sports, I'll leave you and Ellis to converse to your hearts' content." She picked up the paperwork and headed for the door. "I'll check in on you, Dad, before I go to bed." She glanced at Ellis. "Give me a call if you need anything, Mr. Carlisle. Good night."

  Thomas gave a low whistle and a soft chuckle as soon as Sydney left the room and her footsteps could be heard going up the stairs. "That girl has a mind of her own."

  Ellis had already learned that much about her. Now he was learning more about her. "I think she was a little upset with you, Thomas." He had a feeling she was more than just a little upset. Sydney had not only been embarrassed, she had been furious.

  Thomas sat back in his chair and smiled. "That was the whole point, Ellis."

  "You actually wanted Sydney mad at you?" Maybe the doctors had been wrong. Maybe the accident had scrambled Thomas's brain. Why would he want his daughter upset with him? From what he could tell, Sydney had been caring for her father since the accident. What in the world would Thomas have done without Sydney's help all these months?

  "No, I don't want her mad at me. But I do want her to show a little emotion. Ever since the accident she's been treating me like an invalid and tiptoeing around me as if I would break."

  Thomas had a point. Sydney did overprotect her father. But Sydney also had a reason for being so sheltering. "Can I make a comment as an impartial observer?"

  "Shoot."

  Any man who goaded his daughter into showing some type of emotion should be strong enough to handle the truth. It really shouldn't have mattered to him, but he had seen Sydney's face when she had stormed out of the room. Thomas had hurt her, and hurt her deeply. "If you don't want Sydney hovering around you like an invalid, stop acting like an invalid."

  Chapter 4

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  Sydney glanced from the closed door of the police station to the sky, searching for an answer. She squinted against the brightness of the sun, but didn't receive any heavenly message. Somewhere between last night in the den, when she had left in a snit, and this morning, she had lost a page of life, or had missed some boat that she didn't even know had been docking.